Analysis: Why the Inflation Reduction Act passed the Senate but cap-and-trade didn't
Why the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act but not a cap-and-trade bill, according to three ex-lawmakers In 2010, the biggest climate bill in the nation's history crumbled in the Senate, where climate legislation has gone to die for decades.
, the authors — would have set a nationwide cap on carbon emissions while letting companies trade permits to meet it. But many factors converged to spell the cap-and-trade bill's demise, including the Great Recession and opposition from industry interests. After narrowly passing the House, it never got a Senate vote.on Sunday was nothing short of an astonishing feat — one that offers important lessons for the future of climate policy in the United States. The Climate 202 on Tuesday spoke with three former U.S. lawmakers who were directly involved in the legislative effort more than a decade ago: former senatorJay InsleeHere's why it was possible to advance thePresident BidenWhile the Inflation Reduction Act contains $369 billion in new spending to fight global warming and bolster clean energy, most of that spending is in the form of carrots, not sticks.In other words, the bill provides generous incentives for consumers and corporations to curb their planet-warming emissions, rather than punishments for individuals and industries that emerge as climate laggards. That's a major change from Waxman-Markey, which fell decidedly into the stick camp, prompting loud complaints from conservative groups and the fossil fuel industry. The conventional wisdom in Washington has also long held that a carbon tax — another stick — amounts to political kryptonite. The cap-and-trade bill “told companies that they couldn't emit more than a certain amount of carbon into the air,” Boxer said. “I think that made it harder because it was laying down the law.” By contrast, Boxer said, the Inflation Reduction Act “is all incentives. I think that really is an easier lift.”that uses both carrots and sticks to curb methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.Certain petroleum and natural gas facilities would be subject to a “methane emissions charge” that would start in 2024 at $900 per ton of methane, increase to $1,200 in 2025, and reach $1,500 for 2026 and each year after.The bill would provide up to $1.55 billion in grants, rebates and loans to help companies comply with the program. And companiesInslee: Climate disasters are on the rise
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